Deep-well elevator



J. GRANT June 11, 1929.

DEEP WELL ELEVATOR Filed April 13, 1922 IN VENTOR: JOHN GRANT,

Patented June '11, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN GRANT, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR, B Y MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO BYRON JACKSON PUMP (70., OF- WEST BERKELEY,- CALIFORNIA, A CORPORA-TION OF DELAWARE.

DEEP-WELL ELEVATOR.

Application filed April 13, 1922. Serial No. 552,265.

This invention relates to devices used for handling tools and materialsin connection with oil and other wells.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an elevator withlocking means to prevent any accidental disengaging of any parts of thedevice.

Another object is to provide locking means for the link members of thedevice to prevent the link members from disengaging from the hoistinghook, to which the device is normally attached, being at the same timesuitbers for locking a movably disposed portion of the body of thedevice to the main portion of the body.

Another object is to for the body latch.

Other objects will appear from the followprovide locking means ingdescription and appended claims as well as from the accompanyingdrawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective illustration of the device,the link members being broken off short above the body member.

Fig. 2 is a detail top plan view of the latch mechanism. for locking themovably attached portion to the main portion of the body.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the locking mechanism of latch mechanismon the body, the locking mechanism forming a safety means for the latchmechanism.

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of a slightly moditied form of the latchmechanism, with locking mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side elevation of a hoisting hook, with the twoupper ends of the link members in proper engaging position.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation of a link member,illustrating'engaging stops on the link.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary front elevation of a link, illustrating aslightly modified form of stop for the link.

, Fig. 8 is a cross section on line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary top plan vi f the body portion of the elevator,illustrating the closing attachmentfor the link-en a iw hooks of thebody. a a a Fig. 10 is a side elevation of a slightly modified form oflatching means for the door lock.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary side elevation of a well casing, illustrating,in reduced scale, the coring of the body.

Devices of this type are normally loosely engaged around a well casing,pipe. or tool, under certain shouldered portions of the same. In Fig. 11is, for instance, shown a well casing 12 with a coupling collar 13,under which the elevator body l4 is engaged, the upper face 15 of theelevator body 14 shouldering-against the lower edge of the couplingcollar 13. v i

The supporting links 16 of such an elevator are normally attached to thelarge hook of the lifting mechanism of a well rig, a portion of such ahook being indicated at 17 in Fig. 5. Such a hook is normally open andof such a shape that the links easily disengage from the hook. Adisengagement may under some conditions be very dangerous to the,operators and occasion loss by dropping the load. It is thereforedesirable to design and shape the links so that they will not easilydisengage from the hook. In Figs. 5, 6 and 8, cross pieces 18 areclamped over the sides of the link 16, and held in position by the bolts19. These clamp-like stops can be adjusted to come so close to the hookthat the link cannot disengage from the hook except when swung upwardlyfor that verg, purpose, and accidental disengaging can positively beavoided in this manner. Such a close engagement of the hook with thelinks allows also a jarring similar to the operations otherwiserequiring special so-called jars. In the slight-1y modified formillustrated in Fig. 7, the link is provided with a welded-in cross piece20.

The supporting links are normally engaged with the lugs 22 of the body21 of the elevator, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The lower ends of thelinks are therefore also preferably provided with protecting crosspieces 18 likewise assisting in the jarring operation above mentioned.

The body is provided with engaging lugs 22,-to which the links areengaged. of the body is open, as indicated between the points 23 and 24.A door 25 is in operative One side connection with the body for closingthe open side of the body.

In handling well casing, tools, and other objects with an elevator inconnection with a well rig, it is essential that such an elevator can beopened and closed in the shortest time possible, to avoidloss of time-inlifting and lowering such objects. At the same time, the elevator .mustbe absolutely securely locked at the-moment it is applie'dto suchobjects.

The latch members 26.are pivotally engaged with the door. as indicatedat 2-7, near the inner engagingface28 of the door, so as to projecttowards the outer surface of the door. The engaging shoulder 29 of thelatch 26 is made to engage with the engaging shoulder 30 in the body21to produce awedging action increasing iu effectiveness as the dobrissubjected toinereased outward pressure. Springs 31 control themovements of the latch members 26. so that the. handle portion of thelatch members is normally pressed outwardly by the action of thesprings. large and convenient handle portion is embodied in the latchmechanism, as indicated at .32, connecting the spaced upper and lowerparts of the two latch members illustrated in Fig. 1. A locking pawl33is pivotally engaged to the door as indicated at 34, by which thelatch member can be locked in'engage-d position as well asin disengagedposition.

In Fig. 2, theeautomatic locking of the latch is illustratedin-top planview, the latch being shown in disengaged positionin full lines, whilethe locking position is indicated in dotted lines, indicated =at'35.Thelocking pawl is provided with the lug 36 projecting upwardly, comingin front of the. latch member when the latch member is'in disengagedposition while in rear of the latch member when the latch member isinlocking position. It is, however,- not absolutelynecessary to lockthelatch against movementwhen in disengaged position. The slightly modifiedform illustrated in Fig. 10 is merely in form of a drop-pawl, thepawl'37 being pivotally engaged at 38 to the front near the upper edgeof the door 25. The pawl is provided with the shoulder39 toengage'behindthe latch in the locking position of the latch, while no provision ismade for locking the latch in disengaged position. The pa-wl 3Tisfurthermore arranged and made of a'length to extend with its free "end40inwardly beyond the inner engaging face 28 of the door. so'that, onaclosing of the door against a well casing, the end 40 hits thecasingand is thereby caused to fall into-engaging position, onto the latch,with the shoulder 39 behind thelatch, thereby locking the latch :anddoor securely within the body 21.

Thepawl, either the form- 33 or the form 37, can easily be unlocked bythe operator when taking hold of the handle 32 by a movement ofthe thumborfinger of the operator.

. The'forin ofpawl illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4'. is preferablyspring-operated, as indicated at 41 in Fig. 3; while the pawl,illustrated in Fig. 10 is operative by its own weight.

A slightly modified form of latch member is illustrated in :Fig. 4,insteadof arranging the pivot point of the latch member near the innerface of the door as illustrated in Figs.

1 and 2, the pivot of this latch member is near the outside of the door25, as indicated at 42.

Instead of bracing against the body of the ele., vator, as illustratedin Figs. 1 and 2. this latch .member isprovided'with a hook-like eugag..ing member 43 to engage behind a co-acting engaging member on the body,as indicated at 4. This latch inember is also spring-controlled, asindicated at 45.

Both forms of latclr members are arranged so that the door 25may beswung or moved into closing position without requiring an operation ofthe latch members, that is, the A front faces 46 .and 17 of the latchmembers are beveled suitably in order to allow the latch members withthe door to move into closing position within the body 21.

The body 21 of the elevator is furthermore provided with'swivelinglocking members 48 forabolding the link-engaging hooks 22 of the bodyclosed. These locking members reach over the tops of the link-hooks, andare ipivotally engaged with the base plate 49 of the elevator, asindicated at 50. In Fig. 9, one of these locking members is illustratedin top plan-view, the distance from the center of the pivot 50 to theend 51 of. the base plate being greater than the distance from thecenter of the pivot to the side edge 52 of the base, so that the upperedge 53 of the locking member becomes spaced from the link-hooks to anextent that a link can easily be moved in and out, the space-beingindicated in dotted lines at 54.

The inner-face of the body 21 is preferably cored out to form anengaging face only near the upper edge, as-indicated at 55 in Figs. 1and 11, the'larger portion of the body being cored out to such an extentasnot to engage when appliedtoa well casing. tool, or other articleshandled in wells, facilitatingapplication of the elevator'to thework bydecreasing 'theinner contacting surface. Sucha coring serves furthermoreto facilitate a handling of such an elevator, in the first place for thereason that the elevator itself is normally of heavy type, and foranother reason that the well casing or tools to be engaged by theelevator are also heavy.

In lowering the elevator to the floor, it does not always align properlywith a casing, lying on the floor or ground and to be lifted or engagedby the elevator. The coring, indicated at 56 in Fig. 11, facilitates theapplying of an elevator to a casing while the elevator may be in aninclined position to the casing as 130 indicated at 57 in dotted lines.The elevator can be applied and closed, and, in lifting the elevator,the upper edge and engaging face 55 of the elevator will engage underthe coupling of the casing as the elevator slides along the casing.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an elevator, a body, a door operatively engaged to the body at oneend, latching means pivotally engaged to the free end of the door withthe pivot near the inner cylindrical engaging face of the body and doorso that the engaging end of the latching means projects outwardly fromthe axis of the elevator, an engaging lug on the body to engage over theengaging end of the latching means, and means for automaticallymaintaining the latching means in engaging position and adapted to yieldto manual manipulations.

2. In an elevator, a body, a door operatively engaged to the body at oneend, latching means pivotally engaged to the free end of the door withthe pivot near the inner engaging face of the body and door so that theengaging end of the latching means projects outwardly from the axis ofthe elevator, means on the body for engaging with the engaging end ofthe latching means, means for automatically maintaining the latchingmeans in engaging position and adapted to yield to manual manipulations,and a latching pawl on the door projecting towards the first-namedlatching means for holding the first-named latching means ininterlocking position in relation to the body and door and adapted toyield to manual manipulation.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname.

JOHN GRANT.

